Gary Player - The Legend

Michael Stich and NMI Guests Open Their Hearts and Wallets for Children

Nov 28, 2006 | Filed Under: The Player Foundation

Former Wimbledon champion, Michael Stich, stunned the audience during a live auction dinner at the 2006 Nelson Mandela Invitational at Arabella Country Estate when he donated $500,000 to the charity event.

Stich and his business partners were among several generous givers at the tournament presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Gary Player.

The Friday night auction dinner, which raises money for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Gary Player Foundation, is always one of the highlights of the NMI and, once again, the generosity of the guests was overwhelming as the auction fetched in excess of $1 million excluding Stich’s donation.

Overall the auction, which featured nine lots, exceeded the takings of the 2005 live auction and kept the tournament well on track to reach its target of $5 million in charitable income for the week.

The inaugural Coca-Cola Charity Championship, held earlier in the week, also raised $1 million towards the Children’s Fund, The Player Foundation and the Starfish Foundation, which forms part of the $5 million target.

Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champ only arrived in South Africa on Thursday night but made a huge impact with his generosity and the way he surprised the audience with his gesture, adding to the overall feeling of goodwill.

“It was a wonderful evening and we were very happy with the way it went,” said Marc Player, chief executive of the Gary Player Group. “We work very hard to source the best memorabilia and we’re always trying to find items that allow people to have great experiences, such as a weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix, or a week at the Open Championship in Scotland.”

“You never know what to expect an evening like that to raise because you could auction the same items two nights in a row and get completely different results.”

The function began in unique fashion when all the guests were asked to stand in a mass bid for the first item in the lot - a signed Nelson Mandela book.

Auctioneer Iain Banner started the bidding at $500 and asked guests to sit down when they felt the price was too high for them. Eventually Shoprite/Checkers CEO, Whitey Basson, and former Open champion, Paul Lawrie, were left standing.

When the bid reached $66 000, Lawrie called it a night and took his seat, leaving Basson with the coveted prize. It was a perfect way to start proceedings, as everyone felt included in the bidding process.

Other highlights included Tracey Goosen, wife of golfer Retief, buying a bronze bust of Madiba and Child for $140 000.

Developer Robbie Wray - a regular at the NMI - spent a total of $280 000 on three lots.

Wray bought a match at Wimbledon against Stich, which includes lunch at the All England Club for $200,000. Wray also purchased a painting commemorating Gary Player�s first Masters triumph for $35,000, as well as a limited edition bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label for $42,000.

American real estate mogul, Hugh Connerty, attending his sixth NMI, once again gave generously as he paid $140,000 for a five-day trip to Monte Carlo for the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix.

Another highlight was Dr Andrew Golding�s successful $110,000 bid to attend the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie as a guest of the Player Group.

Coca-Cola businessman Alex Cummings paid $85,000 for an original oil painting of Madiba and Gary Player. Alex’s wife Theresa was also a member of the victorious pro-am fourball for the second year running. She also won the Gary Player Invitational Pro-Ams in Miami and London.

South African golfer Tim Clark, who sadly had to withdraw from the event because of a neck injury on Friday, did not let that stop him from reaching into his pockets.

Clark and his glamorous girlfriend, Candice, bid on just about every lot and managed to secure a soccer ball from the 1996 African Cup of Nations, signed by Lucas Radebe and Nelson Mandela for $80,000. 

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